32 | NOVEMBER 23 • 2023 
J
N

OUR COMMUNITY

O

ne of the blessings 
of being born with 
a disability, says 
Michigan Supreme Court 
Justice Richard Bernstein, is 
that you’re given a chance to 
impact people in a way that 
you may have never thought 
possible.
“It serves as a unifier,” he 
explains of disabilities, which 
don’t discriminate based on 
religion, race or where you’re 
born. “Everybody has a 
connection to disability.”
In Bernstein’s case, the 
connection is personal. Born 
blind, the Jewish justice — 
who is the first blind justice 
to be elected to the court 
— advocates for disability 
equality and acceptance 
when court isn’t in session.
For others, it may be a 
family member, friend, 
neighbor or coworker with a 
disability.
Still, Bernstein doesn’t 
only advocate on a local 
level. He travels the globe, 
often in partnership with 
the State Department, to 
foster connections with 

communities and disabled 
individuals in countries with 
strained relationships with 
the United States.
“We’re not doing any 
kind of heavy lifting 
diplomatically,” he explains 
of the missions, “but what 
we’re doing is creating 
a sense of goodwill, and 
creating something on 
the deepest, 
most personal 
level that you 
can possibly 
imagine.”
While the 
work itself may 
not directly 
change relations 
between 
countries, 
it changes 
relationships 
between people 
living in those 
countries who hail from 
different worlds but have one 
key thing in common: an 
understanding of disability 
and its impact.
Here are the various 
countries that Bernstein 

has recently visited and the 
ongoing work being done.

BOLIVIA
Most recently, Bernstein, 
48, returned from a two-
week trip to Bolivia, a South 
American country with a 
strained relationship with 
the U.S. Bernstein met with 
both Bolivian public and 
political leaders, 
especially people 
of influence with 
children with 
disabilities.
Some 
meetings, 
especially those 
with a more 
public edge, were 
done by day. 
For example, 
Bernstein shared 
his experience in 
the legal field as 
a blind individual (created in 
partnership with Universidad 
Privada de Bolivia) and met 
with disabled athletes.
Other meetings, especially 
those with families that 
took place in people’s 

homes, were done by night 
in a more clandestine 
manner. “Bolivia can be a 
very challenging country,” 
Bernstein explains. “It tends 
to have relationships more 
exclusively with Iran and 
China.”
Still, the mission was 
a success — and the 
State Department is even 
considering a second trip to 
continue building upon the 
relationships forged in the 
first round.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Bernstein is no stranger to 
the United Arab Emirates, 
where he’s spent a lot of time 
working with the Abraham 
Accords, which are bilateral 
agreements on Arab-Israeli 
normalization signed 
between Israel, UAE and 
Bahrain in September 2020.
Specifically, Bernstein 
helped craft disability 
components for the Abraham 
Accords.
Yet, most recently, 
Bernstein was featured on 
Al Arabiya, an international 

One country at a time, Justice 
Richard Bernstein promotes 
acceptance and equality.

A Worldwide 
Advocate for 
People With 
Disabilities

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Justice Richard Bernstein

Justice Richard Bernstein visits with 
Oscar Tejerina, provost of the Bolivian 
Academy of Economics & Sciences, 
and a visually impaired student. 

